I adored that someone has finally fleshed out the characters of the stepsisters; moving past the stereotypical 'evil for evil's sake' characters made this incredibly enjoyable. Using this, makes the protagonist is so much more well-rounded, and produces a less 'black or white' character, but someone who is much more 'real', a morally grey or ambiguous individual.
I believe this is the first book I have read where the traditional 'bad-guy' is re-written to be a hero in their own right, without detracting from the original Princess' storyline. I enjoyed that Isabelle was her own character, and did not rely on Cinderella to be more than.
I also loved that the author decided to use the original gruesome fairytales as inspiration, and set it in the correct contextual period to make it more realistic (in terms of the lengths individuals would've gone to become Royal, i.e. the cutting of the toes, etc.)
I believe this is the first book I have read where the traditional 'bad-guy' is re-written to be a hero in their own right, without detracting from the original Princess' storyline. I enjoyed that Isabelle was her own character, and did not rely on Cinderella to be more than.
I also loved that the author decided to use the original gruesome fairytales as inspiration, and set it in the correct contextual period to make it more realistic (in terms of the lengths individuals would've gone to become Royal, i.e. the cutting of the toes, etc.)